Uni Stuttgart's Axel Körner builds the next generation of adaptive buildings

Axel Körner, a lecturer and researcher at the University of Stuttgart’s Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE), has dedicated over a decade to advancing adaptive architecture by developing bio-inspired compliant mechanisms. These mechanisms replace traditional hinges and joints with flexible, material-driven motion, drawing inspiration from natural systems such as plants and insects. Körner’s work aims to create buildings that can move, flex, and adapt, enhancing their resilience and functionality. Notably, his 2017 project FlectoFold—a modular elastic-kinetic façade shading system—was inspired by the waterwheel plant’s closing mechanism. Building on this, his 2024 innovation, FlectoLine, incorporates rapid snap-trap motions from the same plant and folding patterns of the striped shield bug, resulting in a responsive, biomimetic shading system. Körner emphasizes that compliant mechanisms offer significant advantages in architecture by reducing mechanical complexity and increasing robustness, especially under challenging conditions like wind loads. Unlike conventional shading devices